Special Assignment
by black-cat-9288
Summary: Young C-Sec Special Responce officer, Aston Humes, thinks it's just like any other day. Later that night, he meets young quarian Lia'Vael. Sorry about the crappy title and description. When I think of a new one for each, I'll rename them. Disclaimer inside.


**Chapter 1:** Just Another Job

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The date was 21st May 2184. People on the Citadel were going about their daily business…and those people included the officers at C-Sec. Particularly the officers in the Special Response division.

Against the descending artificial sun was a large warehouse in the lower wards. Dusk was beginning to settle in while inside said warehouse, a group of about 10 Special Response officers had crept up the stairs up to an apartment. Each of them decked in heavy Colossus armour and Breaker assault rifles in their hands. They also wore armoured helmets and balaclavas.

The commanding officer hand-signalled at their point man, a young human male named Aston Humes. Like the others, he was wearing heavy Colossus armor, an armored helmet, and a balaclava. However, instead of carrying a Breaker assault rifle, Aston was carrying a M-22 Eviscerator shotgun with a muzzle brake for door breaking. He also had a M-96 Mattock assault rifle strapped to his back and a M-5 Phalanx pistol holstered on his right hip. Aston was an expert marksman in the field and had earned his place as a sharpshooter. While those skills are rarely needed in the C-Sec Special Response division, infiltration always was.

Aston jammed the metal teeth of the muzzle brake into the hard wires of the doors circuitry. Earlier, two other officers had been sent up to try and hack the locked door, but their attempt was unsuccessful. They tried one more time. Still nothing. They all then realised brute force was needed. Aston looked back at the team as everyone readied to storm. He took a deep breath and then blasted the mechanism.

Once the door moved to the other side, Aston charged in with his Eviscerator in front of him. The first thing he saw was a Geth pointing a Pulse rifle at him. Without a moment's hesitation, Aston pointed his Eviscerator at the Geth and pulled the trigger, which uncharacteristically exploded the synthetic into a flurry of shrapnel in all directions.

"Tango down," Aston informed his commanding officer.

"What in the name of the dalatrass are you doing?" a fast-paced voice said to Aston's left.

As everyone entered the apparent loft, Aston turned to his left and aimed his shotgun at a now shaken and scared Salarian.

"Sir, get down now!" Aston commanded.

The Salarian dropped to his knees with his hands behind his head. Aston, while still keeping his Eviscerator trained on the Salarian, then looked back at his confirmed kill…except there was one slight problem. The legs of the Geth were still standing in place. Even more peculiar was a large metal rod that protruded from the top of the Geth's exposed hips.

"Sir, I don't think this one was active," Aston said to his commanding officer as he looked back at the Salarian.

The commander marched over to the Salarian and pulled him up by the collar.

"What the hell is this?" the commander demanded.

"A-A-Artistic v-vision?" the Salarian stuttered, scared out of his mind.

The squad then looked around the large loft. All around they could see artist's tools, molding equipment, and even a small bed and kitchen area in one corner. The commander's grip on the Salarian grew tighter.

"You are trying my patience, little man," the commander seethed at the shaking Salarian.

Aston then noticed a large grey sheet covering an object somewhere in the workshop space. Keeping his Eviscerator firmly in his hand, he slowly walked over to it. Noticing this, a female officer with a slim and slender body followed him.

Once they both got there, Aston pulled the sheet off, revealing another Geth. It was like the one Aston had shot but this one was on one knee with a Pulse rifle in one hand and the other hand was outstretched into the air. Aston felt his face flush with embarrassment as a few chuckles of laughter were heard in the back of the team. Now, he could easily tell this was another statue.

"Nice going, hot-shot," the female officer said as she nudged the now purple-faced Aston. Fortunately for him, no-one could see his embarrassment.

"How was I supposed to know what was under the cover?" Aston reasoned.

"Right now, you little worm," the commanding officer snarled to the scared Salarian, making Aston and the female officer look directly at him. "Tell me what is going on here or I'll blow your slimy head off."

The Salarian never replied, just let out a few sniffles and sobs. Now REALLY frustrated, the commander tossed the Salarian down to the floor. Once the Salarian had landed, the commander stood behind him, pulled out his M-77 Paladin pistol, and pointed it at the back of the Salarian's head.

"I have half a mind to shoot you right now, you snivelling lizard," the commander sneered.

The Salarian shut his eyes. The gun never had a chance to fire as Aston pushed the commander's arm so the pistol pointed upwards.

"Grovak," Aston said, calling the commander by his name. "Take it easy."

Grovak took off his helmet. Aston could see him glaring at him from all four eyes.

"Looks like you'll be writing the report for this one, mixed blood…" Grovak said, not once taking his four eyes away from Aston.

The Batarian then marched away from Aston towards the exit.

"Alright," Grovak said as he marched through the unit of officers. "Area's clear maggots."

A sigh of relief and frustration echoed in the group as they followed Grovak out of the loft, leaving Aston and the officer with the Salarian.

Aston then put his Eviscerator back into his place on his back. After that, he took off his helmet and balaclava, revealing his slightly dark skin, emerald green eyes, and short black hair. He wiped the sweat off his brow and stared at the Geth outstretching his hand towards him.

"Listen, I know we just met, but I don't think of you that way," Aston said.

"You know," the officer said. "This might be the first person who's gotten close to getting a date with you."

Aston smirked as he turned around to see his colleague taking her helmet off. The black cloth of the balaclava slid off her pale, blue skin. Serah T'sair looked like any other asari but she had little purple spots below her eyes and a few on her cheeks.

"Laugh it up, asari," Aston said, still smirking as Serah giggled.

"At least the intel about Geth sightings was partially right," Serah pointed out as she poked the plastic molded head of the synthetic.

"True, true," Aston replied. "At least it's an improvement on the last time where all we found was a broken garbage compactor."

"Good point," Serah sighed. "Another glorious day for SpecRes, eh?"

"Yep," Aston agreed as he went over to the still shaken Salarian. "I'm really sorry about this."

"No need to apologise," the Salarian said as he stood up to face Aston. "It's my fault. After what happened last year, it was really stupid of me to build Geth statues here. Should've known better. There were just so many resources to mold from."

"Will you be ok from here?" Serah asked. "We've gotta be heading back to the station now."

"Oh yes," the Salarian replied. "I'll be quite alright."

"That's good," Aston said. "Good luck to you. Just no more Geth statues."

The Salarian let out a small laugh.

"Agreed," the Salarian replied. "No more Geth statues."

"C'mon Aston," Serah said as she patted Aston's arm. "We really should be heading back."

"Okay, okay mum," Aston joked, looking at Serah as she giggled. "Let's go…" He looked back at the Salarian. "Goodbye, now."

"Goodbye," the Salarian said as he watched Aston and Serah leave his loft apartment.

1 HOUR LATER

Aston slouched over his desk filing out the report on the Geth 'sightings'. He was out of his heavy Colossus armor and was wearing the typical C-Sec uniform. He listened to the sounds of his colleagues leaving and packing up to go home. Despite his own shift being over, thanks to Grovak, he was stuck prepping the report for Bailey the next morning.

**Thanks a lot, Grovak…** Aston thought as he looked at the report papers. **Completely ruined my night. **

"That report better be ready, boy," Grovak said in his usual condescending way as he looked in the doorway of the office where Aston was working.

"Sir, yes sir," Aston replied with a mock salute.

Grovak cracked his neck to the right in a Batarian sign of supremacy. His superior, by rank only, left his office as Aston stuck up his middle finger at Grovak's back. He then let out a long sigh, knowing he had a long night ahead of him.

"A little birdie told me you're stuck writing up the report," called a dual toned voice.

Aston looked up and smirked as he saw a tall turian standing in front of his desk. White stripes ran below his light brown eyes and across the top of his fringe. He folded his arms in that cocky way making Aston smirk even more.

"Oh really, Toran?" Aston asked. "Did the little birdie's name happen to be Serah?"

Toran pulled up a nearby chair, tossed his coat on the back of it, and nonchalantly put his feet on the edge of Aston's desk.

"Yep," Toran said. "You do realise that you've ruined my night, right?"

"Oh really?" Aston mocked, looking straight at the turian. "How pray tell have I done that?"

"Let me remind you," Toran replied. "We were supposed to end shift, go out to the bar, have something to eat, have a few drinks, and then leave said bar drunk…but thanks to an asshole called Grovak, that night's completely gone to hell."

Aston chuckled as Toran laughed. Aston had always loved joking around with Toran.

"What do you plan to do tonight now, Toran?" Aston asked.

The turian then rubbed his chin with his talon in a mock gesture of thinking. After a few seconds, Toran lowered his gaze.

"Exactly what I said…except without you," he replied with a flare of his mandibles.

"I'm sure you can manage one night with just Serah," Aston reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess so," Toran said as he removed his feet from the desk. He then stood up and grabbed his coat. "Good luck tonight. See you tomorrow."

"See ya," Aston said as he watched his friend leave his office.

With that, Aston was left on his own, left with nothing but his thoughts and paperwork.

**Might as well order food in…** Aston thought.

LATER THAT NIGHT

The empty cartons littered Aston's desk. It wasn't home-cooked but. When his home was another planet away, he was surprised to find food close to it. The doors of the station slid open with the uproar of fresh recruits. The 'nightshift' crowd had started trickling in as Aston busied himself with the final details of the report. Nobody liked working the nightshift. Much easier to deal with confused tourists than sleazy criminals. On the other hand, most senior officers chose the day shifts leaving the young blood to patrol. Though there always were a few hardened detectives that preferred the grittiness on the night cycle.

Aston couldn't help but think back to his time as a C-Sec rookie. He worked the nightshift like many of the recruits he saw huddling and joking about. It was a good three months until he first met Serah and Toran. They were as fresh on the force as he was and befriended him quickly. He was chastised by the higher-ups for being more friendly with aliens, but he was used to appreciating the person. He knew from experience the race, or the color of their skin, didn't matter. It was also how he learned of the Special Response division. Or Spec-Res as they called it. They were in the tactical unit called to handle dangerous altercations of Citadel security; be it hostage rescue or Geth infiltration.

Unfortunately, race played in his friends favour. It was not just their skill. Most humans that took over positions in C-Sec weren't as highly trained. After the Battle of the Citadel, there was a rush to fill the positions to re-establish security. It was only after Bailey noticed Aston bulls-eyeing targets at the C-Sec shooting range did his resumé receive a thorough check. That's what he believed anyway. Not so much that Serah flirted his resume to a higher official's desk. Between Aston's expertise with sharpshooting and his extensive time with Ghana's armed forces, he was better suited to C-Sec's Special Response division and was transferred immediately. Though thanks for people like Grovak, he was doing just as much paperwork as he did as a lone recruit.

Once he had finished the report, Aston glanced at his omni-tool to check the time. It was exactly midnight.

**Thank goodness for that…** Aston thought. **Now that the report's done, I'm going- **

"Hey, Dawson!" a male voice yelled, interrupting Aston's thoughts. "Open up holding cell B!"

Aston glanced up from his omni-tool to see a female in an enviro-suit and helmet being roughly led into the holding cells.

From what the female was wearing, Aston knew she was a Quarian. Basic C-Sec training made him study all races to better serve the Citadel. Customs, amino-acids, homeworlds…he had to research all of it. Admittedly, there were far more resources abiding to Council races than those who weren't.

The rookie human was quite forceful when he pushed the Quarian from behind.

"C'mon sweetie," the officer said. "Move your ass."

The Quarian glared back at the officer with her eyes beaming from her helmet. Aston wanted to do her the honor of smacking that smug look of the officer's face. He eventually led her to holding cell B where, after he roughly shoved her inside. He locked the door, leaving her with a quite drunk and dishevelled Batarian another officer had brought in earlier.

"Dawson!" the officer shouted. "My quota is done for the night."

"Drunken disorderly for the Batarian," Dawson replied. "What's the girl in for?"

"Oh who cares?" the officer replied. "She's only a Quarian. Thieves, the whole lot of them. I'm gonna get some coffee."

The rookie then walked off. Aston had watched the entire exchange. His eyes narrowed at the recruit who was at the coffee machine. The poor excuse of a C-Sec officer and a disgrace to the uniform. Serve and protect. They were supposed to show respect to all races, not abuse and mistreat them…even if they didn't return it. The officer was nothing more than a young hotshot, not taking the job very seriously.

It was then that Aston heard sniffles and whimpers coming from the holding cell. Most of the whimpers and cries he heard were so low that none of the other "officers" noticed as they joked with each other. It wasn't uncommon to hear the sobs of drunks or thieves that got caught…but these whimpers and cries sounded different. They sounded almost fearful.

It was none of his business. Aston was now off-duty so he didn't have to but, against his better judgement, he got up from his desk. He was going to check out what was going on in holding cell B.

MEANWHILE

The Quarian took a seat on the far side of the dirty bench near the cell door. Her head hung as low as it possibly could. She wished she could rub her eyes as she felt the tears streaming down her face. This was not where she wanted to be. A few sniffles of sadness escaped her.

"So…girl," a gruff voice said from the other end of the cell. "Looks like we got…this place all to ourselves."

She glanced up at the still inebriated Batarian sitting against the far wall. She almost felt sick at the way all four of his eyes slid up and down her body, lingering at certain places.

"I think this night is getting…better," the Batarian slurred.

By now, the Quarian was balling her hands together as her feet scratched against one another.

"Please, I don't want…" she pleaded quietly.

"Me, is that it?" the drunkard slurred, interrupting her. "You don't want me?"

At this point, the he stood up, all the while glaring at the shaking Quarian.

"Well," as he reached into his pocket for something. "That C-Sec officer does a poor job of frisking."

Now finding what he was looking for, the Batarian withdrew a small but sharp knife from his pocket. The Quarian stiffened at the sight of it.

"Now, you're going to be a good little girl and stay quiet," he sneered.

He took more steps closer until the Quarian had backed herself as far into the corner of the cell. She was between panting and crying at what he was going to do.

"Otherwise," the Batarian threatened. "I'll gut you of your suit and we'll see how long a quarian lives with her mouth filled with my-"

The drunk didn't have a chance to finish his sentence as the cell door opened. Before the Batarian could react to the intruder, Aston rushed towards him, pulled him around, and grabbed the hand that held the knife. As tall as the Batarian felt drunk, he was no match for a six foot muscular C-Sec officer. Aston twisted the wrist until he heard a noticeable crack then, after the Batarian dropped the knife to the floor, threw the drunkard back into the far steel wall. The Batarian collapsed out cold. Aston kicked the knife away and it slid away to the far right corner. He then turned his attention back to the Quarian in the corner. She was visibly shaking with her hands in front of her helmet. Slowly, her arms lowered to see Aston on his knees in front of her. He was at eye-level with her. She noticed his striking green eyes contrasting his darkened complexion. Those same green eyes seemed full of concern.

"Did he hurt you?" Aston asked.

She was still scared so the best way she could respond to Aston's question was a shake of the head.

"Let's get you out of here," Aston said as he stood up.

Never did the Quarian think she would hear kind words like that coming from a man in a C-Sec uniform. All the other officers treated her roughly, like she was trash…but, to her, Aston seemed different from the rest.

Aston then held out an arm to help the young Quarian up. Grateful for the help, she grabbed his arm and used it to pull herself up. As she let go of his arm, Aston looked at her.

"C'mon," Aston said. "Follow me."

Both of them then left the cell, leaving the Batarian unconscious on the floor. The Quarian followed Aston as he walked over to Dawson. She immediately assumed she'd get another cell.

"Dawson?" Aston asked.

"Yeah?" Dawson asked as he looked up from his desk.

"What was this girl charged with?" Aston asked as he indicated the Quarian standing at his side.

"Um…I don't know," Dawson admitted.

"Has she even been put into the system?" Aston asked.

"…no," Dawson replied.

"Then, as far as this office goes, she has no reason to be here," Aston reasoned.

"Wait…are you even allowed to make that call?" Dawosn protested.

"I just did!" Aston snapped as he turned his back on Dawson. He then looked at the woman beside him. "Let's go."

She hadn't expected this. She was speechless as Aston took her out of the station and back to the main Citadel floor. By now, she had regained her composure.

"I…thank you," the quarian said to Aston when they stopped walking. "I…I…wish I could offer you something to…say thank you…"

"No need to thank me, ma'am," Aston said as he saluted slightly. "I'm just doing my job. To serve and protect. Just some idiots in C-Sec tend to forget that."

"Again…thank you," the she said.

"That's ok," Aston replied. "No trouble at all, ma'am."

Hesitantly, she went towards some shops as Aston turned to go back to the station. He didn't know why he did it, but he stopped and turned back to called to her.

"Hey!" Aston shouted, making the quarian stop dead in her tracks. "I didn't catch your name."

The woman turned back to look at him. Now that was a question she had never heard before since she'd been on the Citadel.

**Hang on a minute…** Aston thought as they looked at each other. **Has her expression changed under that helmet? **

"My name is Lia'Vael nar Uley," Lia'Vael shouted back. "May I have yours?"

"Aston Humes," Aston replied. "Officer Aston Humes." he added with a smile.

Under her helmet, Lia'Vael smiled at the handsome C-Sec officer. She nodded at him and they went their seperate ways as Lia'Vael started walking the same way she was heading before while Aston headed back to the station. Thanks to the drunk Batarian making an unwanted move on a defenceless Lia'Vael, Aston had another lot of paperwork to do.

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**A.N:** Hey guys! This is my very first attempt at writing a Mass Effect fanfic. Hopefully, you'll like it and leave me a review. Those things help me get better. Before I go, I must thank Detective-Mason for giving me so much help on countless things in this story. So…THANK YOU! Please read and review!

**P.S:** If you have any ideas at all what to happen in the next chapter, please feel free to PM them to me or leave them in your review. I'm interested in hearing what you guys think should happen. Thanks!

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not…and I mean do NOT…own any part of Mass Effect. I REALLY wish I could but, unfortunately, I don't. The whole Mass Effect franchise belongs to Bioware.**


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